Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a package separation device that pulls consecutive packages apart by accelerating the leading package away from the trailing causing weakened connections to separate and break.
Description of Prior Art
Container carriers are used to unitize a plurality of containers. Typical containers are bottles, cans and other containers having a sidewall and a neck, chime or raised rib around an upper portion of the container. Container carriers typically connect two or more containers into a sturdy unitized package of containers. Container carriers are generally planar arrays of rings, sometimes referred to as “six-pack carriers,” and may be formed from a thermoplastic sheet material.
The thermoplastic sheet material is typically extruded and then punched so that large numbers of container carriers are formed end to end resulting in continuous elongated strings or strips of container carriers. Unless specified otherwise, container carriers as used in this specification are defined as the continuous elongated string of container carriers prior to application onto containers and subsequent division into individual container carriers. Weakened connections are typically formed in the continuous strips of container carriers between each adjacent container carrier. Previous iterations of Hi-Cone machinery utilized sharp blades actuated into the container flow or fixed dull blade mounted on an angle to separate packages. Both of these options proved to be impractical for large containers and/or plastic containers. Sharp blades have been ruled out due to the risk of nicking the sidewall of the container and causing leaks, and the angled blade became geometrically impossible for large containers due to the application depths required.
The present invention includes a system wherein adjacent packages are pulled apart rather than cutting or breaking the weakened connections between such packages. To accomplish this, a set of timing screws are preferably used to accelerate a leading package away from a trailing package to create enough tension in the carrier web to separate the perforations or other weakened connection and, accordingly, the packages. This method in conjunction with the “fan foldable” perforation will create a reliable package separator without any of the aforementioned issues.